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Pauline Dakin

BIOGRAPHY
I am a journalist who started my career in print with The Telegraph Journal in Saint John, NB and spent most of my career as a health reporter with CBC National News and as the host of the documentary program Atlantic Voice at CBC Nova Scotia. I now teach in the School of Journalism at the University of King’s College in Halifax.

Run, Hide, Repeat: A Memoir of a Fugitive Childhood (Viking/Penguin Random House Canada: 2017) is my first book. It won the 2018 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction. It was also named one of the best 100 books of 2017 by The Globe and Mail, and was shortlisted for the BC Book Prize, the Evelyn Richardson Non-Fiction Award, the Margaret and John Savage First Book Award – Non-Fiction.

As part of the book tour to support the launch of Run, Hide, Repeat I was able to do readings across the country.

I am on Twitter at @paulinedakin and look forward to connecting!

PUBLICATIONS

  • Run, Hide, Repeat: A Memoir of a Fugitive Childhood
AWARDS

Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction for “Run, Hide, Repeat: A Memoir of a Fugitive Childhood”. 2018

RNAO National Award for Excellence in Health Care Reporting​. Radio: Best News Story ­ “MS Procedure Debunked” 2013

CMA/CNA Media Awards for Health Reporting​, Excellence In Radio Reporting ­ News “The Forgotten Cancer” 2010

CMA/CNA Media Awards for Health Reporting​. Excellence in Radio Reporting ­ In­depth. “Deadly Inheritance” 2009

Atlantic Journalism Awards​ – Enterprise Reporting, Silver Award. “The Forgotten Cancer” 2009

Canadian Science Writers’ Association,​ Science in Society Journalism Award. “The Forgotten Cancer” 2009

RNAO National Award for Excellence in Health Care Reporting​ – Radio: Best In­depth Feature Story. “The Silent Teacher” 2009

Atlantic Journalism Awards ​– Feature Writing for Radio. “The Silent Teacher: Body Donations for Medical Science” 2008

Canadian Association of Journalists​ – Faith and Spirituality. “Where is God Today?” 2008

RTNDA​, Dave Rogers Award for best Long Feature “Whatever Happened to the Golden Years?” Maritime Magazine, documentary. 2007

Atlantic Journalist Awards​, finalist, feature documentary “Destination Wellville”, 2007.

4 Pauline Dakin

RNAO National Award for Excellence in Health Care Reporting ​– Radio: Best National Broadcast. “Pandemic: The Threat of Avian Flu”. 2006

Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc​ (IRE). “Seniors and Drugs: Prescribed to Death”. 2005

Canadian Association of Journalists​, Don McGillivray Best Overall Investigative story, “Prescribed to Death”, 2005.

Canadian Association of Journalists​, Awards for Investigative Journalism – Open Radio News/Current Affairs. “Prescribed to Death”. 2005

Canadian Association of Journalists​, Awards for Investigative Journalism – CCN Matthews/CAJ Computer Assisted Report award. “Prescribed to Death”. 2005

The Michener Awards for Meritorious Public Service in Journalism​, Citation of Merit, “Faint Warning”, 2004.

Canadian Association of Journalists​, Awards for Investigative Journalism ­ Open Radio, “Faint Warning”, 2004.

National Science Writers’ Association​, Science in Society Award. “Fats and Carbs” 2002.

Radio/Television News Directors ​(RTNDA) – Ron Laidlaw award for continuing coverage. “Special Help Dog”. 1990

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Experience Levels

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) uses the following terms to describe writers’ experience levels:

  • New writers: those with less than two years’ creative writing experience and/or no short-form publications (e.g., short stories, personal essays, or poems in literary magazines, journals, anthologies, or chapbooks).
  • Emerging writers: those with more than two years’ creative writing experience and/or numerous short-form publications.
  • Early-career authors: those with 1 or 2 book-length publications or the equivalent in book-length and short-form publications.
  • Established authors: those with 3 or 4 book-length publications.
  • Professional authors: those with 5 or more book-length publications.

Please keep in mind that each form of creative writing (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, writing for children and young adults, and others) provides you with a unique set of experiences and skills, so you might consider yourself an ‘established author’ in one form but a ‘new writer’ in another.

The “Recommended experience level” section of each workshop description refers to the above definitions. A workshop’s participants should usually have similar levels of creative writing and / or publication experience. This ensures that each participant gets value from the workshop⁠ and is presented with information, strategies, and skills that suit their career stage. 

For “intensive” and “masterclass” workshops, which provide more opportunities for peer-to-peer feedback, the recommended experience level should be followed closely.

For all other workshops, the recommended experience level is just that—a recommendation—and we encourage potential participants to follow their own judgment when registering.

If you’re uncertain of your experience level with regard to any particular workshop, please feel free to contact us at communications@writers.ns.ca